St Matthew's Academy

What St Matthew's Academy does

St Matthew's Academy (legal name: Saint Matthew's Academy) is a six-year denominational Catholic secondary school located on Jack's Road, Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was established in October 2007 through the merger of Saint Andrew's Academy (Saltcoats) and Saint Michael's Academy (Kilwinning), and is operated by North Ayrshire Council as part of the local authority education system. The school serves approximately 1,350 pupils aged 11-18 across stages S1-S6, drawn primarily from ten Catholic primary feeder schools across North Ayrshire, with recent S1 intake also including pupils from over 20 non-denominational primaries. Head Teacher Mr Stephen Colligan leads a Senior Management Team of four Depute Head Teachers and a teaching body of 90.3 FTE, supported by administrative, technical, librarian and pupil support staff.

The school's offering centres on a full secondary academic curriculum (English, Mathematics, Sciences, Languages, Humanities, Arts, Technologies, PE, Music) augmented by structured pastoral care organised around six saint-named Guidance Houses. Technology infrastructure is built on commodity digital-learning platforms — Microsoft Teams, Glow (Scotland's national digital learning platform), e-sgoil and Achieve — and is backed by a February 2025 Digital Schools Award re-accreditation. Enrichment programmes include the Duke of Edinburgh's Award (Bronze/Silver/Gold; 99 enrolled pupils; 95% completion vs. a national average of 50-55%), a Gold UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award (March 2023), an 18-year Malawi Partnership with St Peter's Catholic Secondary School in Mzuzu, MCR Pathways mentoring, school counselling, and the 'Lux Mundi Live' podcast distributed via RSS.com, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The school is state-funded: tuition is free and there is no commercial revenue model. The only fees disclosed are nominal Duke of Edinburgh participation costs (£33 Bronze/Silver, £40 Gold). Distribution is geographically constrained to North Ayrshire, with enrolments governed by council placing requests and denominational feeder rights; transport is provided for pupils outside the Ardrossan/Saltcoats/Stevenston core. The institution does not have shareholders, investors or external equity, and operates as a local-government educational entity under North Ayrshire Council governance.

Name

St Matthew's Academy

Legal name

Saint Matthew's Academy

Website

https://saintmatthewsacademy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St Matthew's Academy is a state-funded, six-year Catholic denominational secondary school in Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, serving approximately 1,350 pupils (S1-S6) primarily from ten Catholic primary feeder schools across North Ayrshire, operating under North Ayrshire Council.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)

Keywords

• Secondary education
• Denominational schooling
• Pastoral pupil support
• Curriculum and assessment
• Extracurricular enrichment

Headquarters

HQ city

Saltcoats

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Education Funding: State-funded secondary school under North Ayrshire Council. Operates as a six-year denominational secondary school established in 2007 following merger of Saint Andrew's Academy and Saint Michael's Academy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

St Matthew's Academy is a state-funded six-year denominational Catholic secondary school (S1-S6) in Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, serving approximately 1,350 pupils with comprehensive curriculum delivery across all standard subjects, faith formation, pastoral support, and enrichment programmes such as the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, digital learning, and an 18-year Malawi partnership. Operated by North Ayrshire Council, tuition is free, with revenue drawn from public education funding.

Product overview

St Matthew's Academy is a six-year denominational secondary school serving approximately 1,350 pupils in Saltcoats, North Ayrshire. The school operates as a single institution providing comprehensive secondary education across S1-S6, supported by digital learning infrastructure including Microsoft Teams, Glow, e-sgoil, and Achieve platforms. The school's core offering includes traditional academic curriculum (English, Mathematics, Sciences, Languages, Humanities, Arts, Technologies, PE, Music) alongside enrichment programmes such as the Duke of Edinburgh's Award (Bronze through Gold), Malawi Partnership exchange programme, Rights Respecting Schools (Gold), and the Digital Schools Award re-accreditation. Communication services include the Lux Mundi Live podcast, monthly Heyzine newsletters, a Pupil Voice student blog, and the MCR Pathways mentoring programme. The school also provides pastoral support through six Guidance Houses, in-school counselling, Campus Police Officer, and welfare rights advice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Duke of Edinburgh's Award Programme Youth achievement programme offering Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards through physical, skills, volunteering, and expedition sections. The school runs one of the largest DofE programmes in the area with 99 pupils currently enrolled and a 95% completion rate.
• Lux Mundi Live Podcast

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration18 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Theatre School of ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 February 2026Workshop provider for S3 pupils on musical theatre. Activities include singing, acting, dancing, and devising original work. School looks forward to future engagements.
• St Peter's Catholic Secondary School, Mzuzu, MalawicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Longstanding partnership celebrating 18th anniversary in 2025. Exchange visits with pupils and staff from both schools. School supports 12 pupils with full scholarships at St Peter's. Partnership involves cultural exchange, shared learning experiences, and support for local community including Mzuzu Central Hospital and Women's Development Centre.
• MCR PathwayscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMentoring programme helping pupils feel supported, confident and ready for the future. MCR Pathways Coordinator Michael Lafferty works with pupils weekly in school. Programme supports career guidance and personal development.
• Diocese of Galloway YouthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChurch partnership supporting Catholic youth development and faith formation across the diocese.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Kilwinning Academy: Non-denominational secondary in Kilwinning, also North Ayrshire Council-operated, one of St Matthew's predecessor institutions' feeder regions and a direct competitor for in-catchment enrollments.
• Auchenharvie Academy: North Ayrshire Council non-denominational secondary in Stevenston, part of the same council portfolio as St Matthew's and competing for shared placing-request applicants and shared council resources.
• Ardrossan Academy: Non-denominational co-existing secondary in Ardrossan operated by North Ayrshire Council, directly competing for placing-request pupils from St Matthew's geographic catchment.

Direct peers

• St Columba's High School (Inverclyde): Catholic secondary in Gourock serving the Inverclyde Catholic community with a comparable feeder-primary model and denominational governance, directly analogous to St Matthew's in scale, ethos, and council-aligned funding.
• St Ninian's High School (Giffnock): Catholic secondary in East Renfrewshire with a large catchment, comprehensive S1-S6 provision, and extensive pupil wellbeing and enrichment program—closely mirroring St Matthew's operating model in a higher-performing local-authority context.
• St Andrew's and St Bride's High School: Catholic denominational secondary school in East Kilbride serving a multi-parish Catholic community under South Lanarkshire Council, structurally identical in model (six-year S1-S6, Catholic feeder primaries, council funding) to St Matthew's.
• St Margaret Mary's Secondary School (Glasgow): Roman Catholic co-educational secondary in Castlemilk (Glasgow), part of the same Scottish Catholic denominational school network with matching S1-S6 structure and council funding flows.
• St Aloysius' College (Glasgow): Jesuit Catholic secondary school in central Glasgow with six-year S1-S6 coverage, extensive enrichment programs, and high retention; a strong comparator on pastoral structure, awards culture, and digital credentials.
• St Aidan's High School (Wishaw): Catholic secondary in North Lanarkshire drawing from Catholic primary feeder schools, with similar pastoral house-system structure and council-funded denominational status.

Others

• Education Scotland: Scottish Government agency responsible for inspecting and accrediting state schools; the regulator whose inspections, frameworks, and policy guidance govern St Matthew's operating conditions and accreditation pathways.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-matthew's-academy

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St Matthew's Academy